Lily

I'm out my mind. There are many other ways to handle these situations but at the moment, I feel like I may collapse under all this pressure.

There is no exact answer to why I'm running away. Maybe it's because I know no matter what I do, I'll always be that fat girl. Or that girl who everyone hates. Or just nobody.

With a grumble, I climb down the tree as carefully as I can. A crunch makes me jump until I realize it's the branches I stepped on.

With a huff, I blow the hair out of my face and wipe away the sweat from my forehead with my muddy sleeve.

Three days.

It's been three days since I ran away from my pack.

It's hard to call them a pack when it was full of people who abused each other and brought each other down.

Packs are supposed to support, treat, and care for each other like family. But my pack takes pleasure in making people suffer because they aren't up to their standards of beauty. It's something I could never understand.

Slowly wandering through the trees, I sniff the air for something to eat. I crinkle my nose when a skunk-like smell slaps it. It's times like these I wish I didn't have this ability to smell even the faintest of smells.

A small movement on a bush catches my eyes. Panic fills my bone but my nose soon recognizes the delectable scent. I crouch down as I make my way to the source. My face comes face to face with a squirrel who doesn't notice me as he nibbles on a small acorn.

Even with all this weight, as a werewolf, no human or animal can sense me.

I've been having second thoughts. I replay the rejection from my 'mate' in my head, to convince myself not to go back.

My heart thumps inside my chest - almost like heartburn. Running a hand through my hair, I chew on my bottom lip hoping to stop the tears that threaten to fall.

He doesn't deserve my tears. Especially after rejecting me in front of the whole school.

"Knock knock." The door opens and my mother enters with a look of certain evil. Goosebumps rise up my arms and the temperature in the room seems to get colder.

She sits on my bed and stares at me with humor in her eyes. I just stare back at her with my best poker face - I've never seen her like this. Her face is usually strict, with a smirk, or with her face set into a glare.

"So I heard about the Mate thing..." She trails off.

Already? It hasn't even been ten minutes and my own mother knows I got rejected.

"It must feel horrible, shameful, and in front of hundreds of people. Hundreds. I'd leave this place if I were you." Her eyes twinkle mischievously.

I look down at my hands, licking my dry lips. So that's why she's so joyous. My pain is enjoyable to her just like everyone else.

"Wouldn't that be a good idea?" She lifts up my chin, her eyes giving me sympathy, fake sympathy.

It's as if this has been planned from the beginning. No love, hate - almost disgust.

"I have to go." I get up, my heart beating fast and out of control.

Without a goodbye, I run out the door and stop a few feet away. I look back at my bedroom window, hoping to see my mom looking apologetic but she's not.

My mother stands beside my father - watching me with small, almost unnoticeable smirks. I hold back tears and run until my legs are burning.

I rub my eyes and shake my head, trying to somehow burn that memory from my mind. I stand up and reach for my roasted squirrel, mentally thanking whoever taught me how to make a fire with two sticks.

Settling on the ground, I take a large bite and take notice of the eerily silence. The Red Dawn Pack was always filled with drama and those few times with peace only lasted for a minute or two.

It's a shame really.

I close my mouth at the sudden crunch sound. The beating of my heart increases until I realize it's the sticks and leaves under my bottom.

I shrug to myself and proceed to take a large bite out of the squirrel, moving around until I don't feel the sticks under my bottom.

"Smells good."

"Wha—" My words are muffled by a fabric coming over my head.

Thick arms wrap around my stomach and my hands are held down as a rope gets tied around my feet. I struggle but I don't scream.

A part of me wants to scream but the other part wants to let them kill me.

A spiny rope tightens around my shoulders until it's hard for me to breathe. Sweat rolls down my neck, the beat of my heart wildly beats in my chest, and a strong aura makes the hair on my arms stand.

An Alpha...

I should have sniffed my surroundings before camping on this territory. They will surely kill me if I don't have a valid excuse.

I look around the fabric but the holes are too thick for me to see through.

"Who do we have here?"

Footsteps walk around me. I make my hands into fists when something nudges my fingers.

"A werewolf. On my land."

Sunlight hits my eyes and causes my eyes to close for a moment. I blink a few times until they connect with dark chocolate eyes. I scream and push my legs at his feet.

"Ow," The teenage boy with chocolate brown eyes looks at me as he stands up and pats the dust away from his pants, "Tell me I'm not that ugly. This is the third time a person screams at my face today."

My jaw unhinges at the beauty of the boy.

His face has a few pimples. His nose isn't that pointy but it's still straight and nicely curved. His eyebrows are perfectly shaped. The small stubble on his chin makes him look like some sort of baby face with an abnormal hair disorder.

"Since the beginning, I knew you'd turn out hideous. I don't know how such a beautiful couple gave birth to you," A beautiful girl with brown ombre hair stands beside two other boys who curiously stare at me.

The girl has a teasing smile on her shiny pink lips, her dark-skinned face looks free of any flaws, and her eyebrows are too good to be true.

In all, the girl reminds me of Debra and it's making me worried.

"Burn!" A scrawny looking guy with orange hair starts to laugh slapping his thigh as if the situation was funny.

I take notice of his big ears. Even with the big ears and orange hair that cover his eyebrows, the boy is cute with his almond shaped dark brown eyes, thin lips, and flat nose.

"Calm down, Victor. Quite honestly I question your sanity." A boy, who looks very similar to the first teenager, slaps the orange haired guy in the back.

He rolls his eyes before curiously peering at me with his eyes. I downcast my eyes to the ground - a habit of mine.

"What's your name?"

Forgetting that I'm in the presence of an Alpha, I jump. With butterflies in my stomach, I lift my gaze to the presence in front of me.

"Lily," I make my answer clear. The Alpha's eyes lift slightly, not happy with my defiance.

A werewolf should never look an Alpha in the eye before being told they can, being their familiar, or holding a position in a pack.

"Oh, crap. This just got real."

I divert my eyes to the ombre-haired girl who’s speaking. She leans against a tree with the most entertained expression on her face.

"Why are you on my land?" The Alpha's question is curt and blunt. His eyes bore into mine as if he is trying to figure me out. Unlike his first impression, he seems less scary and more... human.

I hold my stare, "I'm hunting." I know lying is a sin but if I tell them I'm running away, all they would do is take me back. It's the rules.

"I can tell," The Alpha mutters when he sees the half-eaten squirrel a few centimeters away from me. "The question is, why in my territory... without your pack?"

More sweat trickles down the back of my neck. For the first time in years, someone actually cares about what I have to say, maybe for a different reason than I pictured it, but this counts. But now that I count, I'm wishing I was invisible again.

"I don't have to answer to you." I mentally kick myself and lower my gaze to the ground. Wrong answer.

"Ooo, She's a fighter." Does this girl always have something to say?

The growl of disapproval only causes the fear to rise inside of me. "This is not a hard question. And I'm one hundred percent sure you know the rules. If you don't tell me why you crossed my land, I will have to put you in the dungeon."

"Maybe she forgot," Victor offers.

"Why would she forget, Victor?"

"I forget where I'm going sometimes."

"Because you're stupid."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Shush!" The alpha rubs his temples. "She ran away, her scent is turning into one of a rouge."

The girl and Victor gasp dramatically, "No!"

The Alpha's comment makes me nervous. I try to speak evenly, "With all due respect, sir-"

The Alpha cuts me off, "We both know you don't care about respect. Disrespect to an Alpha is a serious crime but you know that," The Alpha crosses his arms, "Lucky for you, I couldn't care less about those rules. What I want to know is why. If you give me a plausible reason, I'll let you go..."

I sigh in relief.

"But if you don't, you'll get to meet some new people in my dungeon."

"Joy," I grumble.

This doesn't go unnoticed by the teenagers. They chuckle in response.

I don't want to die but I also don't want the Alpha or these teenagers to think I'm a loser.

"If I tell you the truth..." I think carefully about my next words before continuing, "Will you send me back or will you let me go on?"

The look on his face is a clear answer.

"Then what's the point?" The words come out before I can stop them.

The alpha straightens up, "There isn't." His words pierce my heart. What a waste of three days.

"Which pack do you belong to?" It's the teenage boy similar to the first one who asks.

"Red Dawn Pack."

The girl gasps and grasps the hand of Victor. "That's the pack that we're going to!" She looks excited.

Victor, on the other hand, looks annoyed and shakes her hand off of his.

The girl sits beside me and holds out her hand, "I'm Megan."

For a second, I gawk at it until I grab a hold of it. After all, I have manners.

"Megan, you're scaring her," The boy similar to the first one flashes a charming smile, "I'm Jesse, the smart one."

They’re both scaring me.

"Why am I not the smart one?" Megan questions with narrowed eyes, "Is it because I'm black?"

"You dumb girl." Jesse breathes through his nose, "I'm black too."

Megan rolls her eyes, "Half-black."

"I'm Asian."

"No one asked you, Victor." Jesse sighs.

"I know. I just wanted to say something."

"Okay," The Alpha looks like he's holding back anger as he crosses his large arms. "Looks like you're going to have to stay with us."

"What? That's not fair!" I'm dead. The pack probably knows I ran away by now. I'll never hear the end of it.

"That attitude of yours will get you in trouble."

"I don't have an attitude." My quick response raises eyebrows.

The Alpha frowns, "I have no interest in punishing you but if I hear anymore disrespect from your mouth, I will be obligated to punish you."

"You do?" Megan says looking like she doesn't believe him. She even crosses her arms.

She's blunt, a lot like Debra.

The Alpha looks at her, irritated but with a glint in his eye. "I'm just asking because I don't."

Victor intervenes, "I smell garlic.

"Garlic?" Megan sniffs the air. "I don't smell it."

"You're right," Victor frowns. "It always hits me when Megan opens her mouth."

Megan changes color.

"I wonder where it's coming from?" Victor continues. Is he serious?

"You will return with us," The alpha glares at the teenagers behind him. His eyes connect with mine, "And you will be guarded by Jeremy and Jesse."

"I will not," I'm surprised at the formal tone to my voice.

His alpha's stare paralyzes me.

"Please - I can't." My heart begins to thump faster.

He purses his lips before speaking. "If necessary, some of my men will guard the room you will stay in. In fact, you'll stay with Megan."

Megan raises an eyebrow, "She will?" Her tone is anything but accepting.

"If you try to escape, I'll have you escorted to the dungeon for disrespectful attitude to an Alpha and entering owned land."

The Alpha's eyes turn darker and I sense his werewolf. My lips quiver so I settle with a nod.

"Escort her to Megan's room." The Alpha orders.

I close my eyes. It's happening. I'm going back to hell and I didn't even get to find a home.

A shiny shoe gets in my way of vision. My eyes follow the expensive design to the face of Megan.

"Don't get any ideas. I like sausage." She says rolling her eyes.

I can't tell if she is joking or being serious.

"And sausage doesn't like you," Victor blurts.

"Shush, Victoria. At least I have brains." Megan chuckles

"And you-" Her eyes glare at me, "Get up."

With sleeping legs, I stand up slowly. I always feel disturbed by the feeling, it's as if I had ants inside my legs.

"Hurry!"

"Can you wait?" I glare at her. Part of me regrets it but the other is proud.

She doesn't look please, "I don't have the patience for this."

"Obviously!"

The others chuckle at my immediate response. And to my surprise, a smile slowly starts to appear on Megan's face. It's faint but it's there.

"You're secretly a jerk, aren't you?" She narrows her eyes.

"Shut up, Megan." Jesse jumps up and holds out his hand. I hesitate but grab his hand. He pulls me up to my feet and I stumble but he grabs a hold of my shoulders to steady me.

"Thanks," I feel my face getting hot so I pull away and take a couple steps back.

It's the first time a guy my age has been nice to me.

"Let's go." Megan narrows her eyes and motions her head.

The guys look at me with expectant eyes. Given my weak legs, I follow Megan and walk ahead of them.

I can’t stay here. I need to escape.